Market power restricting competition Q??

tommyhaas

I am currently studying for an economics exam, just looking for help.Are ther any relavent recent examples of an Irish firm experencing such a degree of market power that competition is restricted?? Any help appreciated

Ekancone

How about Eircell back in the day?

justfortherecor

Always look at the big Utilities companies in any national economy.

As mentioned above Telecom Eireann was the obvious one back in the day. ESB are still the electrical monopoly here today pretty much.

Time Magazine

Competition can be restricted in many ways.

CIÉ have de facto legislative monopoly on transport routes so competition is severely restricted in that market. Mars v. HB was an interesting case in the early 1990s where freezers were provided free to retailers but on the condition that only HB's goods were stocked in them. Competition Authority v. ILCU was a case where the Irish League of Credit Unions tied their financial insurance product (of which they are a monopolist) to membership of their organisation and it was claimed this restricted the Credit Union Development Association's ability to compete. (Incidentally it was found on appeal to the Supreme Court that the insurance product and membership of the organisation were not distinct products and so no anti-competitive tying could be found.)

Prior to the Competition Act 2002, the Competition Authority were very limited in their powers (they still are tbh) so there hasn't been an awful lot of time for cases to be brought in Ireland. There are plenty of cases from the States (the basic theory of which is the same as in Irish law) and within the European Community (whose rule is of course enforced on us). A good case in the States is US v. Microsoft for obvious reasons, while the Continental Can case in Europe found that simply buying enough competitors can be an abuse of dominance.

What sort of info are you specifically seeking?

Économiste Monétaire

Telecom Éireann.

silverharp

an post , that haven for the work shy should have been privatised years ago

portomar

silverharp wrote: »

an post , that haven for the work shy should have been privatised years ago

you wouldn't want to emulate the royal mail surely?? me and my GF have lived in various parts of the uk, mail being stolen is a constant problem.postal orders, anything that rattles or has a bit of weight is strokified. Not saying its due to privatisation, but we certainly dont have that issue. wrecks my head that government are such ham fisted and useless that the only way we can make something work is by selling it.

silverharp

portomar wrote: »

you wouldn't want to emulate the royal mail surely?? me and my GF have lived in various parts of the uk, mail being stolen is a constant problem.postal orders, anything that rattles or has a bit of weight is strokified. Not saying its due to privatisation, but we certainly dont have that issue. wrecks my head that government are such ham fisted and useless that the only way we can make something work is by selling it.

I think some of the European ones went quite well, Holland for instance. The point is any company that is protected in anyway is going to be bloated and inefficient.